Tū Māia 2025 - Te Waipounamu Expectations
Published: 06/05/26
Continuing our Tū Māia journey, we travelled down to Te Waipounamu where around 30 kaimahi attended the first of three wānanga at Rehua Marae in Christchurch.
It was the first noho wānanga for many of our kaimahi who were immersed into a learning environment that normalises Te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga and where kaupapa tuku iho are abundantly expressed.
Tauira who attended were able to see the fruits of the mātauranga that was shared with them as positive outcomes for tamariki, rangatahi and their whānau.
Tauira Paula Cumming says “I have studied part time te reo Māori and tikanga. I want to get an understanding of Māori culture so I can support my whānau as much as supporting young people to learn where they're from, support them to develop and to grow an understanding of when I'm working with families. Am I doing it right.?”
Hear more about their experience below.
Jordan Nikora - So my name's Jordan Nikora. I live in Invercargill at the moment with my partner and three sons. I am an Iwi FGC coordinator so I am in an external partner. So I'm employed by an NGO and it's only as I've got older and I guess you know, more involved with my partner and his whānau, I've realised how important and amazing it is to be Māori. So any opportunity that I have to learn about Te Ao Māori, I'm all over it.
Paula Cumming: Ohh, I'm a case leader in residences. So I'm supporting my clinical team leader at the moment and working in community home. I love working with the with the rangatahi and the kids. And I always believe that they've got strengths and we'll just have to find these strengths and support them to find these strengths as well. So that's the main reason why I stay there.
Margaret Finney: So my name's Margaret Finney. I was born and grew up in Tasmania in Australia. I was never going to work at Oranga Tamariki. I was, I was one of those people who thought it was a, a very flawed organisation. So it was really interesting to me to see what the sort of, the inner workings of it were like.
Margaret Finney: Because I don't speak te reo and I don't always understand to the full extent some of the concepts we're working with as yet. Singing is something I can do, and so I quite enjoy being able to bring something.
Jordan Nikora: I love waiata. I can’t sing but if I know the words like I'll give it my best.
Paula Cumming: I love waiata, it brings tears to my eyes. I'm really nervous about the action and getting the words and the actions together. But yeah, it's touches my soul. I have studied part time te reo Māori and tikanga and I want to get an understanding of Māori culture so I can support my whānau going ahead as much as supporting the young people to learn where they're from, to support them to develop, to grow an understanding of when I'm working with families. Am I doing it right?
Margaret Finney: I thought this was a wonderful opportunity to really try and start digging into some of the meaning of, you know, we use a lot of words, we use a lot of models, and I wanted to get a really deeper understanding of what they were about and what they really meant. And I think it's been a really lovely combination of keeping things, keeping the learning moving, the momentum. I think it's been a highlight for me. The sense of fun, the way of integrating the activities has been good.
Jordan Nikora: I think getting to know everyone has been really has been really good and that was another reason for wanting to do Tū Māia actually is making those connections outside of just the Invercargill site because it's not the biggest site in the world.
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